The author is a Forbes contributor. The opinions expressed are those of the writer.

Loading ...

Loading ...

This story appears in the {{article.article.magazine.pretty_date}} issue of {{article.article.magazine.pubName}}. Subscribe

AFP

All publishers globally can soon be part of "Instant Articles" program.

On Wednesday, the Menlo Park, Calif.-based company announced that on April 12, coinciding with F8 Developer Conference, all publishers will be able to generate Instant Articles on the social network. The program hosts articles directly on instead of directing users to publishers' sites. Its expansion heightens tension between the social media giant and news organizations, many of which fear that participation will sabotage their own businesses and weaken their control over distribution.

The design of Instant Articles is highly visual, featuring high resolution photos users can zoom into and tilt to view, as well as autoplay video and interactive maps. Facebook began testing the program with a handful of publishers including The New York Times, National Geographic and NBC News in May. Facebook says the feature allows articles to load up to 10 times faster than they typically would, as the format keeps readers inside Facebook's app. To date, the company said a few hundred publishers have been part of the program.

Publishers in the program have the option to either sell or embed advertisements in their articles and keep 100% of the revenue, or let Facebook sell ads, with the social media company taking about a 30% cut. Facebook shares data with the publishers about their readers, but allows publishers to use their own analytics systems and third-party providers to track traffic. The program to a certain degree leaves publishers at the mercy of Facebook's algorithm, which frequently changes and determines which posts and content users see in their feeds. However, the feature is attractive to many publishers who are struggling to monetize content on mobile.

Facebook said it built Instant Articles to speed up loading times for users reading articles on mobile sites while visiting Facebook.

"This is a problem that impacts publishers of all sizes, especially those with audiences where low connectivity is an issue," Facebook product manager Josh Roberts said in a blog post. "With that in mind, our goal from the beginning was to open up Instant Articles to all publishers, and we're excited to be able to do that in a way that makes it fast and easy for all publishers to reach their audiences on Facebook."

Facebook is becoming increasingly powerful as a news delivery service as its flagship app's user base grows at a robust pace. In the company's recently reported fourth quarter, monthly active users grew 14% to 1.59 billion from the same period a year earlier. By comparison, microblogging site Twitter had a net loss of monthly active users during the fourth quarter on a basis that excludes users who visit the site via feature phones.